The Quest to be a Master
by FoxwolfJackson
Summary: Jessie, James, and Meowth have been fired from Team Rocket and have decided to go on their seperate ways. Follow James as he strives to become the best pokemon trainer and coordinator there is.
1. Chapter 1: The Seperation

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

It was a bright day with no wind. The birds in the trees were singing as usual in a peaceful time. However there was one thing wrong with this scene, and it involved 3 very important and prominent members of Team Rocket.

"Stupid Bird!" Jesse shouted, as she tried to get rid of the bird droppings that fell in her hair. She angrily added, "I'm tired of this job, trying to catch Pikachu almost everyday and failing every time."

Meowth calmly replied, "But think about what the boss is going to say if we bring him that Pikachu!"

James rolled his eyes and said, "Enough of these stories about what the boss is going to say! It's not likely to happen!"

Meowth ignored James and dreamily said, "Imagine the boss being angry that headquarters has a power outage. He can't seem to make his coffee because the coffeemaker is off and he can't read the newspaper because there's no light... when suddenly, he gets a bright idea. He goes out and tells Pikachu to use thunder to jump-start the generators. And when he sees how useful our capture has become, he will say, 'It is thanks to those members of team rocket that we have electricity again. I shall reward them handsomely.' "

Jessie and James say together, "HURRAH! Promotions and money! Corner offices and easy lives! What a great idea!"

Meowth jumped and said, "Shut up! Here come those pesky twerps. Hide in these bushes and keep quiet! We don't want to be spotted!"

Jessie, James, and Meowth quickly, but silently hid in the bushes near the road, waiting for the twerps to fall into another trusty pitfalls.

"This time, we'll catch that pesky Pikachu!" Jessie muttered to the others. Ash came walking down the road, his friends accompanying him. Holding hands, Team Rocket watched in anticipation while hoping that Ash and his friends were as stupid as they usually were to fall for the same trick. However, in a few moments, all doubts had been erased from the Rocket's minds as Ash and his friends fell into the pitfall.

"Rubber gloves on!" Jessie says, as Ash fell in.

"Who put this hole in the road?" Ash asks himself.

Brock looks at Ash and asks sarcastically, "Who do you think?"

Team Rocket looked down upon Ash and laughed like they usually do. It was too good to be true that the twerps fell for it every time. After a few moments, the three decided it was time to recite the motto.

"Prepare for trouble"  
"And make it double"  
"To protect the world with devastation."  
"To unite all peoples within our nation."  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."  
"To extend our reach to the stars above."  
"Jessie"  
"James"  
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"  
"Meowth, that's right"  
"Wobbafett!"

Ash shouted up, "Team Rocket! What are you doing? What do you want?" However, as soon as he asked that, he asked himself, "Why do I bother to ask?"

Jessie calmly answered, "We're here to steal your Pikachu."

James continued, "So hand it over! Literally"

He took a mechanical hand, and used it to take Pikachu from Ash. Team rocket laughed as they ran away with their prize catch. Ash shouted after them, "Give Pikachu back!"

James shouted back, "What makes you think I will?"

However, at that very moment, his face changed from gloating to fear. He turned and said to Jessie, "D'OH! I forgot to insulate these gloves with rubber!"

Jessie said, "What do you mean, 'I forgot to insulate it with rubber?' "

Ash commanded, "Pikachu! Use Thunder!"

Pikachu powered up and released his attack with a tremendous force. A giant explosion ensued, followed by Team Rocket flying into the sky with the words, "Team Rocket is blasting off again!"

May, Brock, and Max come running up to Ash.

"Ash, are you all right?" Brock asked.

"I'm fine!" Ash said. "Wait, where's Pikachu!"

Pikachu falls from the sky and lands right into Ash's arms.

"Cha-a-a-a!" Pikachu remarked.

(Team Rocket Headquarters)

Jessie, James, and Meowth landed in front of headquarters in a giant cloud of dust. Meowth looked around them and quietly said, "If we're quiet, maybe security won't find us."

The other two looked at Meowth, and nodded. They got up and started to tiptoe away. However, James tripped, setting off an alarm. As the security robots came over to capture them, both Jessie and Meowth gave James looks that meant "You're going to have a painful death when this is over". They were captured by the security robots and "escorted" to Giovanni, their boss and head of team rocket.

The look on Giovanni's face was enough to scare all three into death. He was beyond was angry with them when he spoke. Each syllable trembled with rage and hatred, as he spoke to the three huddling members on the ground. After a short speech, he angrily said, "This is the last straw. You are all FIRED! Pack all your stuff that you have here. You have 30 minutes to take everything and leave this place! I do not expect your return. Do I make myself clear?"

James quietly protested, "But sir, we have no money... what shall we do?"

Giovanni's face changed from a frown to a smile as he gave the reply, "Turn in your pokemon as something you stole... you will get some money for them. Even though!"

Jessie and James turned in all Pokemon they had, excluding Wobbafett. The three ex-members left silently, packed all their stuff, and left about fifteen minutes later. As they left, they looked back at what was once their headquarters. All three of them felt sad that they were leaving their only home and job. After a small conversation among the three, they decided that they should walk to town and buy supplies there. They took their time in the stores, looking at their supplies, and at how much money they had. After shopping for supplies, the three grabbed a bite to eat. Finally, they decided to get some new clothes, since they didn't have their uniforms anymore, and their current clothes were really looking old.

"I think this looks good on me!" Jessie exclaimed. She was wearing blindingly red shirt, about the same style of her old uniform for Team Rocket. It had an orange "J" on the front. This shirt was accompanied with black pants and sneakers.

James looked at what Jessie was wearing, and actually admired it. "It suits you perfectly… it makes you look cool. Now how about what I got?" James asked. He was wearing sneakers, with a pair of green pants. For the top, he wore blue shirt as well as a black cap with the letters MTJ on it. James grinned as Jessie looked over and turned the cap sideways, saying, "Hey, I'm Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes!"

James looked over at Meowth and saw that he was only wearing a brown trench coat, a brown hat, and sunglasses. "Hey Meowth! What about you?" James asked.

Meowth took off his sunglasses, looked at the two and said, "It's time I go back to how I first started out. I don't know what to look forward to in my life, but I just hope that it turns for the better. I have decided to pick up from before I joined Team Rocket."

Jessie and James stared at Meowth. They knew that Meowth was way older than they were, but they never thought that Meowth would say something like that. Meowth looked at both of their surprised expressions and added, "I'm a little over 50 years old, in case you didn't know. I've lived a good life, but I haven't done all that I wanted to do. I wanted to be the best and smartest pokemon there is, as well as the most popular. And now… I'm gonna do it! Maybe become the best trainer and coordinator there is."

Jessie and James continued to gape in amazement at Meowth. They both simultaneously thought, "He's never spoke this weirdly since our trip to Hollywood, trying to catch that Pikachu."

After their shopping spree, the three decided to go shopping. They all bought some supplies, such as potions, pokeballs, antidotes, and

"Well, what are we going to do now? We aren't a team anymore..." James mumbled.

Jessie responded, "I guess we all go our own ways..."

James said, "Does it all have to end like this? All the troubles we had together… all the fun we had in our trips. Do we really want to separate?"

Jessie, with a hint of sadness, responded to James, "I guess so..."

The three looked each other in the eyes for a good long time. Saying goodbye to each other after going through so much was hurting them deeply. After what seemed an eternity, the three broke the moment, and went in their separate directions, hoping that one of them would achieve their dreams.


	2. Chapter 2: Retracing old steps

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the storyline of this fanfic!

Chapter 2: Retracing old steps…

James walked down the road, carrying the pokeballs he received from his former teammates. "_Team_…" he thought, "_What a small, yet powerful word. It also seems to carry a large emotional value with it as well._" As he continued down the road, his mind was boggled with all the times he had tried to steal pokemon with his former team.

After a while of walking and pondering, James finally arrived at his old home. He walked up to the doors, a curious feeling rushing through him. It was not a feeling of sadness or guilt, but rather happiness. He was happy that he was back home. He was happy that he renounced a life of crime to live a legitimate life. He was happy that he was never to betray his parents or their trust again. He felt as if he was being born again, and living a new life. With these happy thoughts in mind, he knocked on the door, eagerly anticipating one of the servants he knew all too well to greet him. However, when the door opened, James's face had fallen. The door had opened to reveal a servant whom James did not know. The servant looked James over and testily asked, "Who are you?"

James was irritated at the servant's indignation. "How can you take that tone with me? I am James! I lived here when I was younger!"

The servant said, "You're Master James… the child who ran away from this home so many years ago. I am sorry to say this… I do not know how to put it into words. Your parents went bankrupt a few weeks ago. A corrupt accountant swindled them and took all the money they had. Yet, they had still managed to not go into debt yet. With time and lucky they had started to recover from their financial disaster. They seemed as if they would finally get over the problems with the accountant. However, A short time later, Team Rocket arrived while on a pillaging spree, and stole all the pokemon that they could find. They also looted the place and stole all the valuables and money that could be found. Because of this, the family lost everything they had of value. Unable to pay for anything anymore, they had to sell the mansion for a low price. They now live down the road. It is on your first left, and the second house to the right."

James was shocked at what he had just heard. He stood there for a while, staring and unmoving. His parents were broke, he was out of a job, and everything he had once knew and loved had disappeared right before his very eyes. His eyes started to water, but he held back the tears. He quietly replied, "Thank you sir."

The servant said, "You're welcome."

James turned around and walked away. He looked at the door as it closed, just as it had so many years ago when he ran away. His mind was racing with so many thought. A single tear ran down his face, as he realized that everything his family ever had had been taken from him. James walked down the road, following the directions that the servant had given him. He continued to think until arrived at a rather small house. It was in a state of disrepair; vines were creeping all along the house and the lawn was very untidy. He carefully walked up to the door and knocked on it. A short time later, the door opened to reveal to James his mother standing in the doorway.

"Mother," James slowly said, "I'm back home!"

His mother stared hard at James. Her eyes were a mix of emotions that were hard to figure out. She finally said in a firm voice, "And just where have you been? You left us without saying goodbye to go gallivanting on some stupid adventure. You did not care what happened to your family while you were gone… you never sent a letter or called to see how we were doing. If only you were here before this happened to us. You were gone… you left us and you did not even try to help us when you left. Where you disappeared to and why you left, I do not know. You never returned to help us at all. You spent all your time running around like some scalawag and you never even thought about your dear parents. You have caused enough damage to us. We are better off without ungrateful children like you. Just leave and don't come back. "

James looked and said, "But mother--"

His mother cut him off, harshly saying, "You were never there for us before… why should we be here for you now? Now take this from us and never come back. And you can keep that worthless Growlithe if you find it…"And with that she threw a pokeball out the doorway at James and slammed the door.

James stood there, gaping for the second time in quite a few minutes at a shocking piece of news. First, his family went broke, and now they disown him. Grabbing the Pokeball, he ran as hard and as fast as he could away from his "home". Tears clouded his eyes as despair clouded his judgment. The very team he worked for, and was fired from, had stolen from his parents. The very team he had risked life and limb for had just backstabbed him just like that. He ran wherever he could, not looking where he was going. Suddenly, he collided with Ash, who was walking down the road in the other direction. They both fell over and landed hard on the ground.

"Watch where you're going!" James angrily shouted, before he saw who it was.

"It's you!" Ash exclaimed.

"Aren't you going to steal Pikachu?" May asked.

"Where's your friends now?" Brock asked.

"Where's your Team uniform?" May asked again.

"Did you get fired?" Max inquired.

James finally lost his temper and said, "Listen. Just shut up and leave me alone. I don't have time for your petty insults right now."

Ash looked rather offended and said, "Fine! If you don't need help, then we have no business talking to you. Let's go Pikachu!"

James thought that it was good riddance, but one thing hovered in his mind. "Hey Twe--er, Ash!"

Ash turned around, surprised at the fact that James had called him by his actual name. "What is it?" Ash asked.

James looked up at Ash, fire blazing in his eyes, and said, "Could I interest you in a Pokemon Battle? Just one-on-one?"

Ash narrowed his eyes and asked, "What are you up to this time?"

James quickly put up his hands and said, "No trick! I just want to test my battling skills, now that I am an official trainer."

Ash looked James over for a moment, scrutinizing him, then said, "Okay, I believe you. I'm ready to battle when you are. Are you ready, Pikachu?"

Pikachu responded with a loud and confident, "Pika!"

James smiled to himself and thought, "_This time it is for real. No tricks and no traps. This is an honest battle with the twerp. Win or lose, I will know I did it honestly. And if I win, I'll know my true prowess at Pokemon._"

James held up his only pokeball, threw it, and said, "Go Larvitar"

Ash had a confident look in his eye. He decided to start the battle on the offensive. He said to Pikachu, "Use Thunderbolt on Larvitar!"

James anticipated the attack and said, "Dodge it, Larvitar, and use Rock Throw!"

Larvitar responded in acknowledgment but barely dodged the thunderbolt that Pikachu sent. He regained his balance and then retaliated with Rock Throw. The attack rammed itself straight into Pikachu and slammed it against a tree.

Ash quickly said, "Pikachu! Are you okay? I knew I should've healed at the Pokemon Center earlier!"

James started to laugh inside of him. He had never won against this kid before, and now… he was doing well! After a short time of this euphoria, he calmed himself down and quietly said, "Finish it off with Tackle!"

Larvitar replied happily as it tackled Pikachu. The attack was devastating, as Larvitar collided with Pikachu and sent it flying. The force of the attack had knocked Pikachu out.

James started to laugh and said, "What happened to the great almighty twerp? I expected more!"

Ash looked shocked, but managed to reply, "I can't lose! I'll battle another one of your pokemon."

James stopped and said, "Larvitar is my only Pokemon."

Ash looked at James and said, "What about Cacnea and such?"

James hesitated for a second before slowly replying, "They are all gone!"

Ash said in a boastful voice, "Well, I'll be traveling to a new world called Zarith. If you really want to prove yourself as a trainer, then go there. When you reach the championship, I'll be sure to beat you this time."

James just calmly replied, "I'll go. Where is it?"

Ash said, "Just go due north of here. You'll see it. It's a few days walk, but about a day or so if you travel by a faster means of transportation!"

James simply replied, "I bid you farewell and good luck on your quest." With those words, James started to walk down the road. Ash suddenly shouts out, "Hey!"

James replies, "Don't talk to me, I'm in a rush!"

Ash, "North's the other way!"

Meanwhile, back on Team Rocket's headquarters, Giovanni sat in his chair, thinking happily that he had finally gotten rid of those worthless buffoons. He was savoring the thought of those three never foiling his plans again when he was interrupted by an official.

"Sir," the administrator said, "We have completely taken root in the Zarith region. We will start our plan in less than 2 weeks. If there's no interference, then we will soon unleash our most sinister plan ever!"

Giovanni replied, "Good… very good. Commence as planned."

Unaware of any plans that Team Rocket might have been coming up with, James ran as fast as he could, not stopping for anything. He managed to hide in a crate on a nearby blimp that was going to the Zarith region. He thought to himself, "_I'll beat those twerps... I know I will!_" With that, he rode in a crate all the way down to Rose City. A few workers took the crates out of the blimp, including the one that contained James. He quietly sneaked out of the crate and out of the area. Taking careful surveillance, he looked around him. He was in a small, peaceful city. He walked to the nearest Pokemon center and walked up to the Nurse Joy there.

"Can I register for the Zarith league?" James asked

"Sure you can" replied Nurse Joy, "but I need to see your trainer ID card."

"Of course!" said James. He pulled it out and showed it to Nurse Joy.

"Congratulations! You are now qualified for the Zarith league!" Nurse Joy replied, in her usual happy tone.

"Can you heal my Pokemon?" James asked.

"Sure!" replied Nurse Joy, in the same exact tone as the previous sentence.

A few minutes passed as Nurse Joy healed Larvitar.

"Your pokemon is all better!" said Nurse Joy.

"Thank you!" exclaimed James.

With only happy thoughts rambling in mind, James left the Pokemon Center in hopes that he might be able to get his badges and become a true Pokemon Trainer.


End file.
